World City Guide

Key Attractions

Walker Art Center
One of the country’s top contemporary art centres, the Walker Art Center, has a permanent collection of paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture featuring works by Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning and other leading artists. It also stages inspiring travelling exhibitions, as well as a series of music, dance, theatre and film performances. Building expansion is currently planned in conjunction with architects Herzog and de Meuron, of London’s Tate Modern fame.

Adjacent to the Walker Art Centre, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden covers four hectares (11 acres) and in doing so is the largest urban sculpture garden in the USA. It contains works by Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly, as well as ‘Spoonbridge and Cherry’, designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, which has become a symbol of the city.

725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis
Tel: (612) 375 7622.
Website: www.walkerart.org
Transport: Bus 22.
Opening hours: Mon-Wed and Fri-Sat 1000-1700, Thurs 1000-2100, Sun 1100-1700 (museum); daily 0600-2400 (garden).
Admission: US$6 (museum); free (garden).

Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Housed in a striking white marble Beaux Arts building and designed by the renowned American firm of architects, McKim, Mead and White, in 1915, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts contains an outstanding collection of over 85,000 artworks, dating back to 2000BC. These range from old masters and contemporary regional art to Asian and African pieces. Highlights include a fine collection of French Impressionists, a tapestry collection and period rooms.

2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis
Tel: (612) 870 3131.
Website: www.artsmia.org
Transport: Bus 9.
Opening hours: Mon-Wed and Sat 1000-1700, Thurs-Fri 1000-2100, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: Free.

Frederick R Weisman Art Museum
This museum features American artists of the early 20th century, including Georgia O’Keeffe and an extensive collection of works by Marsden Hartley and Alfred Maurer, as well as pieces by a number of contemporary artists. The ‘World’s Fair Mural’ at the entrance is by Roy Lichtenstein. The brick and stainless steel building is itself a sculptural masterpiece, designed by Frank Gehry, in 1993.

333 East River Road, Minneapolis
Tel: (612) 625 9494.
Website: www.weisman.umn.edu
Transport: Bus 2, 16A, 16C.
Opening hours: Tues, Wed and Fri 1000-1700, Thurs 1000-2000, Sat-Sun 1100-1700.
Admission: Free.

Cathedral of St Paul
Set on a hill, overlooking the city and the Mississippi River, this impressive cathedral is one of the country’s largest churches and seats 3000 people. The Cathedral of St Paul was designed by architect Emmanuel Masqueray and took nearly a decade to build, opening in 1915. It is topped by an enormous 57m-high (186ft) copper dome. The Shrines of Nations honour the various nationalities that have settled in Minnesota. Guided tours are offered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1300.

239 Selby Avenue at Summit Avenue, St Paul
Tel: (651) 228 1766.
Website: www.cathedralsp.org
Transport: Bus 21.
Opening hours: Sat-Thurs 0800-1800, Fri 0800-1600.
Admission: Donation.

Minnesota State Capitol
The Italian Renaissance-style State Capitol building (1904) is a masterpiece by architect Cass Gilbert. Over two dozen varieties of marble, granite and sandstone were used in its construction and throughout the lavish interior. The crowning glory is the unsupported marble dome, which rises 73m (220ft) high. The State Capitol is set high on a hilltop and affords sweeping views over the city and Mississippi River Valley. Tours are offered on the hour until one hour before closing.

75 Constitution Avenue, St Paul
Tel: (651) 296 2881.
Website: www.mnhs.org/statecapitol
Transport: Bus 94B/C/D.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat 1000-1600 and Sun 1300-1600.
Admission: Free.

James J Hill House
Life in America’s so-called ‘Gilded Age’ (the late 19th century) is on display in the former home of Great Northern Railway magnate James J Hill. The enormous stone Richardsonian Romanesque mansion, completed in 1891, measures 3240 sq metres (36,000 sq ft) and is an ode to opulence, with crystal chandeliers, stained-glass windows, sky-lit art gallery, intricate wood carving and a huge pipe organ.

240 Summit Avenue, St Paul
Tel: (651) 297 2555.
Website: www.mnhs.org/hillhouse
Transport: Bus 21 or 52F.
Opening hours: Tours Wed-Sat, every half hour 1000-1530; reservations need to be made in advance.
Admission: US$6 (with reserved tour only).

Landmark Center
Dedicated as a federal courthouse, in 1902, this ornate Victorian jewel, with its fairytale turrets and towers, was saved from demolition in the 1960s and is now used for art exhibitions and civic activities. Originally, the Landmark Center would have witnessed many gangster trials, in the 1920s and 1930s, seeing as St Paul was notorious as a safe haven for Big City gangsters, such as Ma Barker, John Dillinger and George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly. Interior rooms are extravagantly decorated with high ceilings, marble and mahogany details. There are free guided tours on Thursday at 1100, Sunday at 1200 and by appointment. The meeting place for the tours is at the Information Desk.

The Minnesota Museum of American Art, with a diverse permanent collection covering American art from the 19th and 20th centuries, is located here.

75 West Fifth Street, St Paul
Tel: (651) 292 3225.
Website: www.landmarkcenter.org
Transport: Bus 21, 51, 361 and many others.
Opening hours: Mon-Wed and Fri 0800-1700, Thurs 0800-2000, Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: Free.

Minnesota Museum of American Art
Tel: (651) 292 4355.
Website: www.mmaa.org
Opening hours: Tues, Wed, Fri and Sat 1100-1600, Thurs 1100-1930, Sun 1300-1700.
Admission: US$5.

Minnesota History Center
Impressive displays on Minnesota history and culture are spread throughout this purpose-built, three-storey building, which was completed in 1992. Different aspects of Minnesota history and culture are creatively portrayed according to the alphabet, such as ‘B for Baseball’ and ‘Z for Below-Zero’.

345 West Kellogg Boulevard, St Paul
Tel: (651) 296 6126 or (800) 657 3773.
Website: www.mnhs.org
Transport: Bus 12 or 21.
Opening hours: Tues 1000-2000, Wed-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: Free.

Science Museum of Minnesota
Housed in a brand-new facility, which opened in late 1999, this city favourite combines science and entertainment, with plenty of hands-on and high-tech exhibits amid the outstanding collections of fossils and artefacts. The McKnight-3M Omnitheater shows state-of-the-art IMAX films on a 27m (90ft) diameter screen and there are also 3D laser shows.

120 West Kellogg Boulevard, St Paul
Tel: (651) 221 9444.
Website: www.smm.org
Transport: Bus 22.
Opening hours: Mon-Wed 0930-1700, Thurs-Sat 0930-2100, Sun 1030-1700.
Admission: US$8 (museum only); US$13.50 (museum, laser show and Omnitheater).